But it is in satisfying their higher needs that

their leisure time. But it is in satisfying their higher needs that employees can be most
productive.
McGregor makes the point that a command and control environment is not effective
because it relies on lower needs as levers of motivation, but in modern society those
needs already are satisfied and thus no longer are motivators. In this situation, one
would expect employees to dislike their work, avoid responsibility, have no interest in
organizational goals, resist change, etc., thus making Theory X a self-fulfilling
prophecy. From this reasoning, McGregor proposed an alternative: Theory Y.
Theory Y
The higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization are continuing needs in that
they are never completely satisfied. As such, it is these higher-level needs through
which employees can best be motivated.
Theory Y makes the following general assumptions:
Work can be as natural as play and rest.
People will be self-directed to meet their work objectives if they are committed
to them.
People will be committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that address
higher needs such as self-fulfillment.
Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility.
Most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are
common in the population.
Under these assumptions, there is an opportunity to align personal goals with
organizational goals by using the employee's own quest for fulfillment as the
motivator. McGregor stressed that Theory Y management does not imply a soft
approach.